China's Q2 GDP slows to 7.5 pct

BEIJING, July 15 (Xinhua) -- China's gross domestic product growth slowed to 7.5 percent in the second quarter of 2013, down from 7.7 percent during the first quarter, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Monday.

Growth in the first half of the year stood at 7.6 percent, which is in line with market expectations and was above the government's full-year target of 7.5 percent.

"China's economy has maintained a steady growth," Sheng Laiyun, a spokesman for the NBS, said at a press conference.

According to the NBS data, the GDP totaled 24.8 trillion yuan (4 trillion U.S. dollars) in the first six months.

"Major economic indicators are still within reasonable ranges as expected, but the economic environment remains complex," Sheng said, adding that the market should play a better role to bring out the economy's intrinsic vigor.

The latest GDP figures headed a string of other data showing a continuous slowdown in the world's second-largest economy after China's full-year annual growth eased to 7.8 percent last year, its weakest since 1999.

Industrial output increased 9.3 percent year on year in the first half of 2013, while the growth of fixed-asset investment, a measure of government and private spending on infrastructure, stood at 20.1 percent during the period, down 0.8 percentage point over the first quarter of the year.

Retail sales, a key indicator of consumer spending, increased 12.7 percent from a year earlier. The growth rate picked up by 0.3 percentage point from the first quarter, according to the NBS.

More on China’s economic data:

• China's fixed-asset investment up 20.1 pct in H1

China's urban fixed-asset investment grew 20.1 percent year on year to 18.13 trillion yuan (2.94 trillion U.S. dollars) in the first half of 2013, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced on Monday.

• China's H1 industrial output up 9.3 pct
China's industrial value-added output rose 9.3 percent year on year in the first half of 2013, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced on Monday.

The pace was down by 0.2 percentage points from the growth rate in the first quarter this year, and further slows from a 10-percent full-year growth registered in 2012, the NBS data showed.

• China's H1 retail sales accelerate to 12.7 pct
China's nominal retail sales grew 12.7 percent year on year to 11.08 trillion yuan (1.8 trillion U.S. dollars) in the first half of 2013, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced Monday.

The growth rate picked up by 0.3 percentage point from the first quarter, according to the NBS data.

• China's H1 fiscal revenue rises 7.5 pct
China's fiscal revenue grew 7.5 percent year on year to 6.86 trillion yuan (1.12 trillion U.S. dollars) in the first six months of the year, according to data released by the Ministry of Finance on Monday.

The pace was 4.7 percentage points lower than the same period of last year, and slightly lower than the country's economic growth of 7.6 percent in the first half, said the ministry.

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